Trunk.



S. W. BONSALL.

TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED APB.I29`, 180B.

Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

s. w. BoNsALL.

TRUNKn APPLIGATION FILED APB. 29, 190s.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

Tfn 0 @imma TRUNK.

` specification of Letters Patent'.

li-fAEENT OFFICE,

sEYMoU-RW-Y`YBoNsALL, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

l patented Aug. 1o, ieee.

application inea April a9, 190s'. serial Ne. 430,019.

To whom 'it may concern:

I e 1t known that I, SEYMOUR W. Bo'NsKLL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and

State vof New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Trunks, of

. which the following is a specification.,

This invention rel'ates particularlyl to sample trunks for traveling salesmen and4 provides an improved means whereby cloth\ ing and particularly `mens coats can be folded and suspended within a suitablejtigunk in such a manner that the maximum number of auch garrnentscai'il be securely and safely packed within a trunk of a'given size, while preserving the ro er folds and creases, so that thesame s a be a't once conveniently .available for inspection and display in such a position that one garment pan be removedI altogether from the trunk vwithout disturbing the others. Y

My invention also comprises an improved portable coat-folding hanger,I whereby mens coats lmay be properly sus' ended as' folded with shoulders touching. y the use of this form of hanger, the coats may be accommov.eo

dated, while suspended in a row and in contact, within a ,narrower space than would otherwise be 'ossib1e.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred form in the accompanying drawings where- Figure 1 is aperspective view vof a trunk made 'in accordance with -my invention `shown open and in position for display of'l garments, Fi 2 is a sectional detail o a part 4 of themova le support forthe suspension bar, Fig. 3 is a perspective'view of a modified form of my device, showing the mode of use of my coat-folding hanger, Fig. is a side view of a portion of the coat-folding hanger in folding position, '5 is asectional view on the plane 'wwb of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 1s an elevation of the hanger joint showing a preferred mode of hanging the same on the suspension bar shownin section, and Fig. 7 1s a top view of the preferred alining device to ether with the hanger hook, showing their re ative posiltions when a coat is suspended.

The trunk body which may be'of any suit- `able form, but is preferably of such awidth as to correspond to the width of the garments it is intended to-cariy, is shown'at 1. yThe cover 2 is shown open and the top portion of the front of the trunk is composed of a hinged display the clothing is lessened, but it is to be understood that the use of the flap 3 is not essential in my invention.

ers 4 which are preferably removable and are .suspended cross-Wise of the trunk upon a susmovable up and down within the trunk. In the form shown in- Fig'. 1, this movable mounting comprises guides 6 and 7 preferably tubular as shown in Fig. 2, which are fastened vertically witln'n the trunk at its two ends. The suspension bar 5 is provided with legs 8 and 9 which can be slid downward into the guides 6 land 7 as indicated by the arrows in Fig.1,' and I prefer to provide means whereby, when the suspensionv bar is raised as shown at Fig. 1 ,it will be automatically held in that position. One convenient means for this purpose which may be used and which I prefer is shown in the drawings and '11, fixed to the tube 6 or 7, and projecting through an opening in said tube so as to enleg 8, according to the height to which the suspension bar is-to be lifted. By this arrangement, when the suspension`bar is raised the pin automatically locks it in one or another raised position, and when it is desired two sides are drawn back by appopriate means, as for instance the handles 13.

Thecoats or other garments are hung upon lshow'n in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in order to keep the mass of clothing compressed and preserve the shape of the garments when packed, I prefer to use a follower 14 ywhich depends from the bar 5, beingv supported thereon by means, such asthe wire loops 15 and 16, whereby, when the follower 14' is pressed toward the right in the figure by the elasticity of the clothing, the supporting means will bind `at the suspension bar 5 and upon the clothingv when it is packed.`

In using my trunk for packing garments the clothingishung as described above upon the suspension bar, which latter is then low'f Within the trunk there are provided hangparticularly in Fig. 2, and consists of a beveled y sliding pin v10 mounted on a spring, such as.

ter one or another of the openings 12 in the' to lower the suspension bar the pin 11) on the.

the hangers 4, for instance in the mannerl thus maintain .the pressure originally placed the suspension bar must be raised to fully pension bar 5 which is so mounted as to be garments thereon is facilitated.

of trunk.

ered far enough for the cover 2 to be closed. After the garments are thus lowered, pressure is applied by means of the follower 14 and the spaceleft behind the follower can be usedfor packing purposes. When the garments are to be displayed or' removed, the suspension bar is lifted to the osition shown in Fig. 3, where it 1s to be iield by tliepin 10 as above described, and the flap 3 is lowered so that all the garments are at once easily available for inspection and for removal. It is obvious that by releasing the pressure of the follower 14, the garments can be separated by sliding the hangers along the suspension bar and thus' any one garment may be removed without disturbing the others, either with the hanger, when the same is removable, orjwithout the Ahanger when not removable.

In Figs. 3 to y7 are illustrated the'details of a modified form of my device some of which are adapted as well for wardrobes as for trunks.'

In this form the outer casing 17is narrower and offers a more convenient shape for some purposes than that shown in Fig. 1. This shape is made available by the coat-foldmg han ers hereinafter described and claimed.

Fig. 3 also illustrates an improved feature which is applicable as well to the wider form This is the spring support, whereby the lifting ofthe suspension bar 5 and the When `a large number of coats is suspended upon the bar 5, the effort necessary for raising themall at once will be considerable, and, in order to lessen this effort I prefer the construction shown, wherein a spring is employed, which ,tends constantly to raise the bar. l

My invention covers the useof any a propriate form and location of spring, but -prelfer to use the form shown at 1'8, consisting of lends are made fast to the casing, as, for 1nstance, by means of the guiding bracket 19, and whose lower ends are fixed to a plug or pin 20 which enters a hollow at the lower end of the leg 9. These springs are used on both sides alike, that on the right in Fig. 3 being hidden by the side of the casing.

In the modification of my invention shown in Fig. 3, theflegs 9 pass throughy pairs of brackets 19 and 21. A catch 22 is adapted to engage cavities 23 in the leg- 9 to hold the suspension bar in any given position. bIt will be seen that the spring 18 is so arranged as 'to create no danger of catching inthe coats, and at the same time full opportunity for free action ofthe spring is afforded.

lines (that is to say shoulder to shoulder'l with a crease down the middle of the back).

while the coat is on the hanger and without removing it from the bar 5 or other suspending means. This device I terma coat-folding hanger, and, while the same isparticularly useful in connection with the improved salesmans trunk shown and claimed herein,

believe the, same to be novel initself and have so claimed it. As shown, this hanger com rises two arms 24, pivoted to a common hea 25,at such a distance apart that, when the arms are v turned parallell each to the other, as shown in Fig. 5, there will be enough s ac'e between them to accommodate the olds of a coat when in the position shown on the right hand hanger in Fig. 3. A suspension hook 26 is attached to the head 25. I prefer to provide the head 25 with a middle rib 27, so placed that, when the arms 24 are brought into parallel position, they bear against the sides of said rib. V I also prefer to'shape the ends of the arms 24, as shown, so thatwhen extended (as in Fig. 6) thesee'nds shall abut against the opposite sides of the rib 27, thus holding them in line and preventing their swinging toward cach other on'the wrong side of the head. In Fig. 4 isshown the referred form of the spaces at cach side o the head 25 wherein the yarms 24 are pivoted and in which they swing. It will be seen that the top and bottom of each of these spaces is inclined upward toward the back and that the pivots on which the arms 24 swing, shown in dotted lines at 28, yare corres )ondingly inclined. Owing to this preferre construction, the 'arms when in parallel position, (as in Figs. 4 and 5) will support the folded coatwithout any tendency to swing a art, while, on the other hand, as soon as tii rated, the weight of the coat will-tend to bring them into the o en position shown on the left in Fig. 3, an thereafter this gravitative action will act to keep the arms in line and prevent all tendency toward accidental folding movement. In combining the coatfolding hangers with the other mechanism shown, the hooks 26 will be made revoluble in the heads 25, so that the operation he'reinafter described will be facilitated. The top of each hook 26 fits fairly snug over the suspension bar, and the hangers durin transortation take the position of the rigIit hand anger in Fig. 3, so that the folded coats lie snugly against each other in a row,'suspend ed from the bar 5. The number of hangers which can be so situated side by side is only limited by the length of the bar and the size of the trunk. In the form shown the hangers are capable of sliding along the bar, but .my invention is not limited to hangers having this capacity. The trunk may be used much as described above -with regard to the form shown in Fig. 1. opened as vshown in Fig. 3, the-,suspension bar 5 is raised, until the lower edge of each purpose may be provided. In this tion above described, I prefer to 'combine the coat is somewhat higher than the jnnctionof the ilap 3 with the trunk. The coats mayv then be separated by sliding the hangers apart and any coat can be unfolded while on its han er, so as to' assume the position shown 1n dotted -lines near the left hand hanger in Fig. 3. To facilitate securing thev elements above set out with alining means whereby each hook 26 may be kept substan-l tially at right angles to the suspension bar 5. A separate means may be provided for each hook, and this is the preferred arrangement.

lI also find it best to make all of these separate alining devices capable. of sliding upon the suspension bar, so that the separation of the coats as above described may be rendered easy. Inthe preferred form shown,

. each alining device consists of a wire clip 29,

tions above described may be carrie bent over and sliding easily u on the suspension bar 5. At the two en s of each clip,

loops or openings 30 are provided, and these are laced in a lme crossing the bar 5. When the ook 26 is hung upon the bar 5, vits tip passes through the openings or loops 30, (see igs. 6 and 7) 'and the hook is thus kept properly alined with respect to the lsus ension bar 5. By this means is corrected) all tendenc of the hanger with its hook to hang crooked yor to give trouble when it is desired to open any given garment, and the o eraout with ease, rapidityv and certainty. At the same time there is no interferncewith the process of putting on and taking off the angers.

Various changes can be made in the device above described without departing from my invention and I do not limit myself Ato the details shown and described.-

What I claim 'is- 1. A trunk comprising an outer casing, a suspensionhbar therein, guides within the casing, legs on said bar-sliding on said guides and means for supporting said legs on said guides said suspension bar and legs being so placed andproportioned as to be adapted to slide down together into said trunk, substantially as described.

2. A trunk comprising a casing having a front flap and cover, garment-suspendlng means within the casing and a `movable Vmounting therefor, said garment-suspending means and mountin bein so placed and proportioned as to be argiapte to slide down together into saidv trunk, substantially as described.

` 3. A tru-nk comprising a casing having the upper portion of its front hinged to open outward, the lower portion being fixed and stationary, a sus ension bar extending from side toside of trhe casing, amounting for said bar for raising and lowering it at will, and garment-attaching means on`said bar, the whole 'so roportioned and arranged that, when said) suspended thereon may be dropped behind thestationaryportion of the front of the casing, and that said garments may be lifted above said stationary portion by raising said bar, substantially as described.

- 4. A trunk comprising anouter casing, sockets therein, a suspension bar extending horizontally across the trunk when the same stands open for use, legs onsaid suspension bar adapted to slide within said sockets and springs each having one end fixed to the casing and the other end abutting upon the bottom of said legs, substantially as described. 5. A trunk comprising an outer casing, sockets therein, a suspension bar extending horizontally across the trunk when the same stands open for use, legson said bar adapted to slide within said sockets, a pair of s rings for each le fixed to the casin and a p ug or in'on sai' sprin s entering ollows in the 'ottom of said egs, substantially as described.

6. A trunk comprising an outer casing, a vertically movable suspending means mounted Within said casing near its forward edge,

and coat-folding hangers hung on said suspending means s`o as'to project inward from the edge of the casing and be inclosable within the same when the trunk is closed, substantially as described.

' 7. vA trunk comprising an outer casing, -a

`vertically movable suspending meansmounted within said casing near its forward ed e, a flap opening outward on the front of t e casing, and coat-folding hangers hung on said suspending means so as to pro'ect inward from the edge of the casin an be inclosable within the same When t A'e trunk is closed substantially as described.

8. trunk comprising an outer casing, a vertically movable suspending means mountedwithin said casing near its forward edge, a coat-folding hanger adapted to fit across and within said casing, sald hanger having two arms ivoted so as to be brought in line or parallelpat will, and rotatable means for hanging sa'id hanger upon the suspending means, whereby a coat on said hanger may be unfoldedand brought partly out of the bar, is lowered, garments v trunk without removing the han er' from the suspending means, substantia ly as de. scrlbed.

9. A trunk comprising an outer casingjav vertically movable suspension bar mounted therein close to the forward edge thereof and adapted tO be movable into and out of.,the trunk casing, and coat-folding hangers hung so as to be capable of sliding along said bar,

substantially as described.

' 10. A trunk comprising an outer casing, a

I said hangers from said bar adapted to side along the bar, substantially as described.

11. A trunk comprising an Outer casing, a suspension bar therein and ne'ar 'the front thereof, a front Hap on the casing adaptedto o en outward and coat-folding hangers carried by swiveled supports capable cf sliding on said bar, whereby a' coat on each hanger may be folded-for packing in the trunk or maybe unfolded and brought partly Outside the trunk without taking it from the hanger,

substantially as described.

12. A trunk comprising an outer casing, a vertically movable suspension bar near the front ed e thereof, coat-folding hangers supported s idably from said bar byswiveled ooks and means connected at each hook for keeping the same in proper psition with respect to the' bar, substantia ly as described. 13.' Ay -trunk comprising an'outer casing, a vertically movable sus ension bar near the front edge thereof and a ining devices on said bar and capable of sliding along the same; in combination with coat-folding hangers each comprising a head, two arms ypivoted to the head and a hook swiveled on said head and adapted to it over said bar and engage with said alining devices, substantially as described. l

SEYMOUR vv. BONsALn Witnesses:

THOMAS L. SEYMOUR, H. L. STEWART.. 

